It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! As we all know, Teacher Appreciation should be an ongoing, never-ending event! I was a Kindergarten teacher, then a family literacy specialist, then a Reading Recovery teacher, then a literacy mentor, then a Dyslexia specialist, and now a homeschool mom…I have LOVED every one of those jobs! I can remember working in my classroom ENDLESS hours those first few years, only to think “I get paid to do this!” (Yes, I know I was a bit crazy!) I was the first-year teacher that called the payroll department to tell them I thought that they “overpaid” me on my first check. Yes, the person on the other end was laughing hysterically! The job was HARD, but I loved getting to work with students and their families. I was TIRED, but when you had a “breakthrough” moment with a student, your tired would go away. (For a short moment!) This is how teachers feel! (The good and great ones!) THIS is why we should say thanks…because these amazing people do this job because they are passionate about what they do. NO…they could never get paid what they are worth and they know that. NO…new mandates from states and districts are not fun and these mandates make them reconsider their career paths. NO…when parents criticize them for the hard work they do, it is not fun and they do cry. BUT…when a teacher is a great one, these things get pushed aside, and they work harder than you could ever imagine to ensure the success of their students and families!

I was a teacher, but I was more impacted by the amazing teachers that poured their hearts and souls into my own kids and also into me as a young teacher! I could never have a post like this without thanking ever teacher I ever had! Thank you to every teacher who has ever worked with my sweet Grace! AND, thank you to those who spent ENDLESS HOURS with my sweet Ben during those years that were most critical for him and for our family! Our lives are forever changed because of what these people have done!

Thank a teacher today! Send a sweet note of encouragement to one of them…I PROMISE it would matter to them, and they would remember it forever!